Worldwide Lexicon (WWL)

The is a collaborative translation memory that can be embedded in almost any website. It is a hybrid machine/human translation system that combines machine translations from multiple sources with human translations from volunteers or professional translators. It is an adaptive, self-learning system that collects feedback from users to learn which translators submit good or bad work.

The translation memory communicates with the websites using it via a simple web API (application programming interface), and is typically invisible to users who simply visit websites that use WWL as they normally would, and see translations without leaving those websites.

What is it Used For?

Worldwide Lexicon is used for translating content online in a combination of machine and human translation. The system is typically implemented by embedding lightweight widgets, usually written in Javascript, within another website or webpage. The widget loads itself, and then calls WWL to request translations for the texts within the page, and then displays the translations either adjacent to or as a replacement for the original, untranslated texts.

The user will typically see the translations in a dual language view, with a paragraph of original text, followed by a translation, and so on. The user can edit or score a translation simply by clicking on it, editing the text within a text editor form, and then saving it to the translation memory. All of this can be done without leaving the original webpage.

Worldwide Lexicon gives you a lot of control over how to display translations, and what parts of a page can be translated. You can translate the entire body of a document in a single block, or you can break it down into smaller units, such as paragraphs, which are each translated independently. You can also allow users to edit translations for some parts of a page, but not others, and you can mix several source languages on the same page.